Nation

Jewellery stores on high alert following thefts

Close watch: A security guard keeping watch at a jewellery outlet in Petaling Jaya.

PETALING JAYA: Jewellery stores here are on high alert following news of the two internationally-wanted jewel thieves who are on the prowl in the country.

Employees at the Poh Kong outlet located at the 1 Utama Shopping Centre have been reminded to be extra vigilant.

Store manager Andy Chong said the chain had a WhatsApp chat group in which they had shared the CCTV footage of two thefts in which the two suspects stole two rings from two jewellery stores in Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur last Thursday.

“We have discussed the circumstances that led to the robbery and advised our staff to always keep their eyes on the jewellery. They should never take out an entire tray of jewellery for a customer.

“This will make them an easy target for robbers,” he said yesterday.

Apart from two security guards, the store also has 15 CCTV cameras to monitor everything that goes on in the shop.

Another jewellery outlet here, Diamond and Platinum, said it had instructed its staff to be on alert following the theft.

Outlet manager Grace Lim said their employees had been cautioned to constantly calculate the number of items under their care.

“We have been told not to take more than two items out from the display at a time for each customer so it is easier to watch over the items.

“We also try to have two or more salespersons per customer whenever we can,” she said.

Abdul Rasul Abdul Razak, who owns Abdul Razak Jewellers, has reminded the staff at his three outlets to look out for suspicious characters following the latest reports.

He had been a victim of a robbery at one of his outlets last year.

“We do not take out more than three items at a time for customers. These thieves are now very professional in the way they operate.

“Last year, we had many instances with large groups of Middle-Eastern people coming in with children and looking at jewellery.

“They would slip the jewellery to their children who would then just walk out of the store,” he said.

He added that security had been heightened with more guards and CCTV cameras at his outlets.